Tara Murray
Altona Gators are making the most of the learning curves in the Big V men’s division 1 competition.
Last season’s division 2 champions, have had a mixed start to the season sitting 3-4 after ??? rounds.
Coach Josh Turton said division 1 was a lot different to division 2.
“It’s been a whole different beast this year and we’ve been hit by the injury bug a little bit,” he said.
“We’ve been lacking that consistency a bit. It’s been a good learning curve, a good experience and we’ve had to find ways to win games.
“We’ve stayed competitive in games, but we haven’t been able to win games. We know no one is happy being 3-4 though.”
Turton said games they were winning last year in division 2, were now five to 10 point losses in the higher division.
He said they know they are a better team as the season goes along and are hoping to be able to turn those results around.
“We know we’re a July and August team,” he said. “We know what the results can look like and what the long term goals are.”
Turton said they were hoping for a bit more luck in the injury department to fully come together as a team.
Samson Rocker missed a game early in the season while Tom Georgiadis missed a couple of weeks early and Rhys Hislop has also missed games,
Turton said the biggest thing had been how it had impacted the consistency of their side.
The Gators had the bye on the weekend.
Turton said it came at the perfect time for the group.
“We’ll give the boys a bit of a rest,” he said. “We always break the season down into chapters.
“Chapter one is done and it gives us a good chance to reflect. We’ll have dinner together and spend some time together.”
Turton said the next chapter was a number of key matches in a short period of time. This weekend they face the Warrandyte Venom and Chelsea Gulls.
Last time the Gators faced the Gulls they lost by 30 points.
“We want to show how far we’ve come in the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“I thought we had a handy fixture last year and I feel like we have one this year with getting rest at the right times.
“I’m really excited for the next couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile in the women’s division 1-2 competition, the Gators had an 88-76 loss to the Mildura Heat.
The Heat won the game in the final quarter, outscoring the Gators, 27-17.
Tyla Paraha top scored for the Gators with 17 points.
The Gators now sit in fourth spot with seven wins and three losses.
In youth league men’s division 2, Westgate beat RMIT and Wallan on the weekend.
